Wed, December 13, 2017 Detroit.The snow and cold won’t stop us. Even in the face of this winter weather we will be gathering tomorrow. Gilbert’s Icarus Moment, Call for a city-wide CBA Meet us at the Wellness Plan Building 7700 Second Ave. Please arrive at 8am or earlier. We will have transportation for you, in addition to coffee and donuts. Please come bundled up as it will be very cold! Signs and hand-warmers will be available!!

Reasons to join us tomorrow!

Gilbert’s Development Monopoly

Brewster Douglas: At 18 acres south of Mack Avenue and west of I-75, the property would be the largest currently under control of the billionaire founder of Quicken Loans Inc. and Rock Ventures LLC who has been buying and redeveloping dozens of greater downtown properties in the past several years, both buildings and vacant land.

Earlier this year, the Michigan Legislature approved $1 billion in state tax money for Dan Gilbert and other wealthy developers. The arrangement allows the rich and corporations to collect state residents’ income tax instead of the government.

On Nov. 21, the Detroit City Council approved $250 million in local tax money for Gilbert to use on four downtown projects he’s planning.

On Dec. 1, the U.S. Senate approved a 15 percent cut in the corporate tax rate and a long list of other changes to the tax code that will largely benefit the rich.

On Dec. 4, we reported that Gilbert is now seeking a total of $618 million for his downtown projects. The request includes money that should go to Detroit Public Schools.

Total: 99.9 acres or more

CBAs are tools for racial and economic justice around the state across the country.

Compton Mayor AJA BROWN: “Absolutely. I’m unapologetic pro-Compton, and so in my first couple of months as being mayor, we passed a local hiring ordinance and a community benefits policy that mandates any new development, any new company that moves into the City of Compton, we have to negotiate a customized benefit agreement which consists of training, of local job opportunities, 35% minimum. There’s also funding to create additional job opportunities for the community and then local procurement. For instance we just opened a new 500,000 square foot UPS facility, and that total community benefits package was about $10 million but it included local procurement over the next 10 year period. And so, it’s really about finding ways to include your community in its growth and to make that really a determining factor of whether or not they’re able to be able to partner or to be able to invest within your community.”

Grand Rapids residents shut down vote on development w/o enough community input

Shouts of “No!” and “Give him the mic!” could be heard at the AmplifyGR meeting last night at Hope Academy, a charter school near Madison and Burton.

The meeting was one in a series hosted by AmplifyGR. AmplifyGR is a non-profit being incubated within the Doug and Maria DeVos Foundation. Its purpose is to engage the community regarding the development of $10 million worth of properties that Rockford Construction has purchased in the Boston Square and Cottage Grove neighborhoods.

At this meeting, the agenda set by AmplifyGR was to vote on a community ballot for planning. This ballot was generated by AmplifyGR from the last meeting, on September 7. At that meeting, attendees were put into separate breakout groups to discuss their goals regarding topics that AmplifyGR chose: education, jobs and businesses, housing, and community well-being.

Call to Action: Gather against corporate welfare and call for a city-wide CBA.

Dan Gilbert & Bedrock are breaking ground on the “Q Scraper” this Thursday, December 14. The skyscraper will be the tallest building in Detroit. The project will extract hundreds of millions in public funds and resources.

Dan Gilbert has established a development monopoly downtown that is threatening to expand into the neighborhoods. He has done so by stripping public funds and resources, land and buildings, from our black and brown majority city and transferring them to his private projects, like the “Q Scraper”.

We have an obligation to speak out against the use of our public resources to build things that are not for us. We gather to express our lack of consent and our objection to Dan Gilbert’s family of companies monopoly.

Join with Detroit People’s Platform Thursday morning. We will meet at 8am for coffee and conversation at the Detroit People’s Platform office (7700 Second at Palliester, Free off street parking.) At 9:00am we will gather in Grand Circus Park (corner of Woodward and E. Adams.)